Impunity within the Nigeria Police force apparently does not recognize faces or status as a police escort in a convoy shot a vehicle conveying five serving corps members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The security operatives shot at the corps members who are currently serving their country in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
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The incident happened around 1pm in front of the Mowe Police station as the convoy said to be en-route Lagos to pick up a governor from the airport went haywire and shot at serving Nigerian corps members who were returning from the NYSC secretariat at Owode.
According to eye-witness reports, the police escorts were in a jeep and ordered the driver of the vehicle conveying the corps members.
The driver obeyed the directives of the police escorts but apparently they were not satisfied with the compliance; two of the police men in suits alighted from the vehicle and shot at the back tyre of the vehicle conveying the corps members while they were still inside.
The driver of the vehicle who is also a corps member Benjamin Olayemi, told the Punch Newspapers that the incident was reportedly immediately at the Mowe Police Station where the incident happened.
In his words;
“On Thursday we went for our monthly clearance. As we wanted to link the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from the Mowe pedestrian under bridge, a vehicle came out and blocked our lane. I parked and a Danfo driver behind me did the same. We noticed it was a convoy and we allowed the vehicles to pass.
“As I wanted to move, another Jeep blocked my car. Two security men in suits came down and walked towards my car. One of them shut at the tyre. They entered into the Jeep and zoomed off. They knew we are corps members because we were in uniform.
We went to the Ibafo Police Station to make a report and the DPO led us to the Mowe Police Station. When we got there (Mowe division), we realised that the incident actually happened in front of the station. One of the policemen said we should thank God only the tyre was shot.”
Another corps member, Mariam Abdulkareem, revealed that she recorded part of the conversation between her colleagues and policemen at the Mowe division where the case was reported.
In the recording, a policewoman was heard telling the aggrieved corps members not to blame the police for the incident.
“Don’t shout at us; you saw them yourself. They wore suits and carried big guns. I also saw them. It is because you are corpers they left. Most times, they beat up people.”